Reorganizing, downsizing, consolidating, and streamlining are more than just a few fashionable buzzwords that describe todays job market. For millions of people, they have meant just one thing: loss of their jobs.

Yet there still plenty of good positions open for those people who are prepared. Only many of these jobs arent the same as before. They reflect a changing world of work, a world in which companies are flatter and less bureaucratic, knowledge is more valued than longevity, and global competitive pressure has broken down the lifelong-employment contract of yesterday.

For people who want to find a new job, or keep the job they have, this new world of work demands new attitudes, new skills, and new responsibilities

There is no longer any such thing as job security. No employer is going to guarantee you a job for life. Companies are trying to survive in a world in which change is constant, in which new competitors suddenly appear, and demanding customers are always clamoring for new products and services.

The first priority of companies is to counteract the competition and fulfill the demands of their customers. Keeping employees is not a priority. But before you become disillusioned by this, you also need to know that there is still plenty of work to be done and people needed to do that work.

In todays world of work, you will not be given job security automatically. But you can earn it. How? By making yourself valuable to the company. But its your responsibility and not the companys to manage your career. You are in charge of that.

To really take charge of your career you first have to understand how companies are changing, and how to choose the company for your future. Then you have to identify and develop the knowledge and skills that these new companies require from their employees.

Faced with mounting competitive pressures and budgetary constraints, companies are trying to eliminate the fat to increase efficiency and productivity. They want to be lean. And one way to become lean is to decrease the number of bureaucratic layers, becoming, in other words, flatter. By becoming lean and flat, companies then become tough enough to fend off competitors and dominate their markets.

Companies today are reducing bureaucratic hierarchies to become leaner and more competitive. In these new structures, employees must take on more action-oriented, customer-focused responsibilities, and be able to lead people. They must do more than just put in an eight-hour day and go through bureaucratic routines.

Whatever your current situation, whether you are well placed within your company, just starting out, or looking to make a career change, there is one thing that you must do to ensure a successful future: You must constantly be learning.

Today, more than at any time in history, you must take control of your life. And being in control is the key to successfully navigating todays turbulent world of career shifts and job changes. The more you learn, the more competitive you are, the more valuable you become to current and future employers. Your knowledge is the lifeblood of your employer. In fact, in the Information Age it is more accurate to say that you work with, not for, a company. That is the power of being in control of your life.

What should you learn to increase your competitiveness and employability? You must increase your skills in people management, your ability to work in teams, and learn to work well in ambiguous, complex, and uncertain situations. You must develop the ability to make effective decisions when there is no right answer. You must have the ability to solve problems and deliver results. And you must become an excellent communicator, by developing powers of persuasion and influencing.

People who can lead, function well as team players, and who can actually do the work as opposed to just manage it are the ones who will always be employed. As youre learning and gaining new skills it is important to keep your primary focus on being flexible, open to change, and being tolerant in the workplace.

Whether you have been let go or you decided to leave on your own, they way in which you look at it will make all the difference. Instead of looking at it as being fired or thrown out. Look at it as if you are on a paid (through unemployment compensation or your severance package) sabbatical, a time to take stock and think about your future. Becoming unemployed might just be the chance of your life. Because the answer to a better future often lies in doing something different.

You need to take stock in your situation and find out where you are on the ladder of life. For example, do you really need the salary you were earning at your old position? If youre over forty-five, you probably have some savings, your expenses are lower (for example, you have fewer dependents living with you), and you received a good severance package from your former employer.

Taking stock, you may realize that your financial situation does not require you to go back to a high-paying but high-stress job. You may decide that you have an opportunity to go into another field, perhaps one that has more meaning for you even if it doesnt pay nearly as well.

The first step in looking for new employment is to carefully and honestly assess the needs of the marketplace, and what skills and knowledge you can bring to it. Successful people look for ways to acquire more valuable skills to boost their attractiveness. They realize that getting a job depends on what the employer wants, not what they want.

Research and identify what potential employers really need before you apply for a job. Then tailor your offering to that company. Individual tailoring is more effective in finding a job than sending out two hundred copies of look-alike resumes. Mass mailings of resumes is like firing a shotgun in an open field at midnight and hoping to hit something.

Here are four things that companies today are looking for:

1. A track record in creating change. The business world is a world of constant change. Companies want people who have been there and succeeded. They want people who have shown they have the courage to break through the safe status quo and tackle things on a project-oriented basis.

2. A team builder. Companies want people who not only can motivate a team but also who can pull together effective, talented teams on a project basis.

3. Cultural mobility. Because of global competition, people who can comfortably deal with other nationalities, and business situations in foreign countries are invaluable.

4. Computer and Internet skills. We are now in a world economy that is driven by computers and the Internet. Companies want people who not only have a good working knowledge of many types of computer software but also who are able to research and communicate using the Internet.

When you apply for a job, send a carefully prepared letter that addresses the job you know is open and why your skills fit the products and services of that company. Get personal. Dont send letters to anonymous human resource departments. Call to find out the names of the people you want to reach. And dont be afraid to hit them with multiple pieces. Often sending to resume to the marketing director, the sales director, and the human resources director can work wonders.

Chances are that in todays volatile world of work, you may one day be let go, downsized, made redundant, or whatever other term you want to use for losing your job. You can wait for that moment to blindside you, sending you into despair and frustration. Or you can prepare for it, even anticipate it, and use that moment as a turning point for your future.

Copyright2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.